Avera & Smith
2814 SW 13th Street, Gainesville, FL 32608, Gainesville, FL 32608
About Avera & Smith
Avera & Smith is a Gainesville, Florida law firm with over 70 years of experience. The firm represents clients in personal injury, workers' compensation, medical malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Several attorneys hold Board Certifications in Civil Trial Law or Workers' Compensation Law. The firm has secured multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements, including significant results in tobacco litigation. Avera & Smith is a family-founded firm offering bilingual services.
Our Attorneys
Rod W. Smith
Partner
50+ years experience
Lance F. Avera
Partner
36+ years experience
Mark A. Avera
Partner
36+ years experience
Jennifer Cates Lester
Partner
33+ years experience
Dawn M. Vallejos‑Nichols
Managing Partner
31+ years experience
Bradford T. Willard
Attorney
17+ years experience
Benjamin Steinberg
Litigation Attorney
14+ years experience
Jared Comstock
Associate Attorney
14+ years experience
Alexandria Avera
Attorney
7+ years experience
Zander Reilly
Attorney
1+ years experience
Natasha Samria Mickens
Associate
John Whitaker
Partner
Gary Wimsett
Associate
Notable Case Results
Case results are sourced directly from attorney websites by Injuria.ai's data infrastructure, which actively monitors 22,000+ personal injury law firms. They are not results obtained by ThatCarHitMe.com. Every case is unique and must be evaluated on its own facts. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The results shown are not necessarily representative of all results obtained by these firms.
$37.5M
Drunk Driving, Wrongful Death, Personal Injury
A St. Clair County Illinois Circuit Court judge awarded plaintiff Lucas Williams $37.5 million for the death of his wife and his own complete disability as the result of a horrific drunk driving crash in 2010. The verdict includes damages for Jessica’s wrongful death and Mr. Williams’ personal injury claim.
$34.7M
Tobacco Litigation, Wrongful Death, Fraud
An Alachua County jury returned total damages of $34,723,176 to the family of Tyrone Dixon in a verdict against R.J. Reynolds (RJR) tobacco company. Mr. Dixon contracted laryngeal cancer and passed away in 1994 at age 38 as a result of his addiction to cigarettes containing nicotine. This case was part of Florida’s Engle progeny litigation.
$34.6M
Tobacco Litigation, Wrongful Death
A Pensacola Circuit Court jury returned a $34.6 million verdict against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company on behalf of the family of Garry O’Hara, a man who passed away from lung cancer at age 50 subsequent to quitting smoking at age 35. Engle Progeny class action case.
$30.8M
Drunk Driving, Traumatic Brain Injury
A Tallahassee jury awarded the parents of Jackie Faircloth $30.84 million in damages from a drunk driving accident in 2014 involving Potbelly’s, a popular bar in Tallahassee. The bar was found liable after one of its underage employees purchased alcohol and later struck Faircloth with his car while intoxicated. Faircloth was rendered unable to walk, talk, feed herself or perform normal, daily activities.